Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand has described former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel as a "man of detail," as he edges closer towards becoming Chelsea's new head coach.
The 47-year-old German is poised to be installed as the club's new boss in the next few days after Chelsea made the decision to sack Frank Lampard after less than two years in charge on Monday.
Following a fifth defeat in their last eight Premier League games at the hands of Leicester City last Tuesday evening, Roman Abramovich - the Blues owner - made the decision to axe Lampard, despite the former England international having guided the club to a top-four finish and the FA Cup final last season.
Ultimately, though, after spending £220million on seven new signings last summer, the Blues have failed to live up to expectations, struggling for both form and goals in recent weeks.
But with Lampard's time in charge now at an end, Chelsea can look forward to the future, with Tuchel soon set to be in charge of steering the ship.
And for Ferdinand, Tuchel is an ideal choice, as he waxed lyrical about him ahead of Monday night's FA Cup clash between Wycombe Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur.
"He was one of the most amazing of the managers I've been fortunate enough to interview," Ferdinand told BT Sport. "Very insightful, he was a man of detail.
"As much as it was about speaking to him, it was also speaking to the players he managed. Dani Alves, [Gianluigi] Buffon, two of the most experienced and coveted players in this generation of footballers, they couldn't speak any more positively about him, in terms of how he treated them as individuals and as a collective.
"The ambience in the squad was at an all-time high. He's done well at the clubs he's been at previously, he got PSG to a Champions League final last year and won the league."
As well as heaping praise on Tuchel's shoulders for the work he has done in the past, Ferdinand also hinted that Tuchel could be the ideal man to spark misfiring duo Kai Havertz and Timo Werner into life.
Since joining Chelsea last summer from Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig, respectively, the pair have struggled to hit the high notes, with Werner's penalty miss against Luton Town in the FA Cup on Sunday summing up his current woes.
"He's German, which I think is an interesting point as well because the two big signings, Havertz and Werner, are German as well," Ferdinand added. "They haven't really set the world alight and they'll be looking to get that now."
Havertz has scored five times in all competitions so far this season whilst Werner has scored on nine occasions.
Between them, however, they have scored just five times in the Premier League.
